#immense pain and suffering

[stil-lindigo]

Context: Israel “allowed” aid in the forms of flour bags to be airdropped into Gaza, waited for hundreds to congregate, and then opened fire into the crowd of desperate, starving Palestinians. 150 Palestinians were killed. Hundreds more wounded. This is being called “The Flourbag Massacre”.

source

Meanwhile, over on the other side…

[da-birb-writes-sometimes]

How You Turn My Word; Chapter 2

The day continues, and this time you find yourself in an entire new world... a world called The Underground.

Character; Lilia Vanrouge

Content; Gender-neutral reader, more shenanigans, reader isn't happy

Content Warning; Intoxication (Lilia), swearing

Word Count; 2.7 K

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |

Don't put my work into AI; I'll make sure you end up in the Bog of Eternal Stench.

Lilia’s night was not going according to plan and he was mentally cursing himself over it.

Thing Lilia did not plan for #1; he got lost. To be fair though, many a thing had drastically changed since the last time he romped around the mortal realm. A few hundred years would do that though. Humans now seemed to live in tall metal boxes rather than the humble cottages of ages past. 

Thing Lilia did not plan for #2; a red flower deceiving him and containing something akin to liquor. So he was flying around lost while under the influence, which only worsened his situation. (Lilia did not know it, but the red flower was in fact a hummingbird feeder with sugar water which had been left out in the sun for too long and had fermented. Make sure to change your hummingbird feeder often on hot days so you don’t cause a nectar-loving friend to fly while wasted) 

Thing Lilia did not plan for #3; getting himself stuff in one of those tall metal boxes, and he was now stuck inside some cursed metal labyrinth. At least it was not iron or silver, as it did not burn, apparently, humans no longer fortified their abodes with those metals. Perhaps the times have changed for the better?

But Lilia finally escaped the infernal metal labyrinth, perhaps luck was finally on his side tonight after all! He bumped around a few corners. My my, what a small hovel. Perhaps things have not changed all that much from the last time I was here… But Lilia was rudely pulled from his thoughts when something swatted him clean out of the air. And the culprit? A rather rotund grey cat with large blue eyes, which was now carrying Lilia into its lair, most likely to play with him for a bit before deciding that it had had it’s fun and ultimately put him out of his misery.

His night went from a jolly and somewhat embarrassing tale he would regale about at the local tavern, to a bedtime story parents would tell their children about the dangers of going places that you really shouldn’t. Should he get out of this sticky situation Lilia would not live this incident down. 

The cat placed Lilia in a collection of socks and then sauntered off, calling out at the top of its lungs. Great, it's getting company for supper, and I’m the appetizer. How lovely. But Lilia knew he would have a better chance of getting out of this situation if he stayed calm and waited for an opportunity to escape. Even while tipsy, he could keep his cool.

And the feline was back and yanked Lilia out of the sock hole. Cracking open his one eye he saw that the cat did not come back with its hungry friends, but rather, a human. That was both good news and bad news. Good news; he most likely was not going to be eaten tonight! Yippee! Bad news; the last time he was in bat-form in a human’s abode, he was chased around with a torch, which he really did not want to go through again. So his best course of action was to play dead in this situation.

When the human left the room though, he took his chance and took flight once again, trying to find a way out. The cat was trying to catch him again, but Lilia knew of its tricks this time and dodged every swipe it sent his way.

But he was pulled out of his thoughts when the human screeched at the cat, “YOU CAUGHT A FUCKING BAT?!” 

Oh yeah, they did not sound happy, not at all, but it seemed to be directed more at their feline companion rather than him.

As he was busy flapping around, trying to find an escape but to no avail, he also heard the human whispering to him. “Don’t fly towards my head, bat. I’m just trying to get you back outside. You’re a nice bat, right? Nice bat, nice bat.”

Were he not preoccupied and in a better state of mind, Lilia would have been amused by this. Currently, though he was occupied with trying not to be eaten and finding a way out of this cursed place. He was not in a laughing mood. All Lilia wanted to do was get back home, pass out in his bed but he would also be happy with his sofa as well, and pretend that this was nothing more than a bad dream after a night spent tavern hopping. Dealing with a horrid hangover would be better than this… and he was most likely going to have one of those anyways. Tonight really wasn’t Lilia’s night, not at all.

Then the human grabbed the cat, and Lilia was finally left alone. The window was open, but he didn’t know that, as his mind was too preoccupied with you know, not dying, that he hadn’t noticed that the human had opened it for him. So where did Lilia go? Well, he went back into the metal labyrinth (air duct), and fumbled around until he tired himself out. It wasn’t the most ideal of spots to crash for the night, but it was better than going back and possibly being eaten, Lilia would rather avoid that. So this was going to be his bed for the night, a lonely quiet corner of the air duct system, where he could hopefully wake up sober tomorrow. But he yearned for his warm quilts that awaited for him back at home, back in Faerie, or as some call it, the Underground.

Lilia wasn’t even supposed to be in the mortal realm in the first place, but curiosity had won him over, and he even ignored the travel advisory that was in place. Some crow fae had travelled there about a century or so ago and had yet to return back, hence a travel advisory. But yet here he was in the mortal realm, tiny, drunk, and utterly lost. His bad decisions could be looked into further detail once he got some shut-eye. So he wrapped himself in his wings and passed out in the corner of the air vent. Hopefully, when he woke up he could turn this disastrous day around.

…

Upon waking up, Lilia groaned — or rather, in this case, squeaked — and stretched his wings out. So the wretched metal maze and last night's fiasco was not some liquor-hazed dream; how lovely. Utterly delightful.

At least the strange maze echoed sound quite well, so he knew what exits to avoid. Not that one, he could hear a dog barking, and the feline encounter was enough for him. No, not that one either, he could hear children screaming.

Finally, he came to an opening, there was some quiet chatter, but it was far enough away where Lilia felt comfortable enough to explore this potential escape route. 

Why does this look familiar? AM I BACK IN THE BUILDING?! Yes, yes he was. At least there was no sign of the ca–

“Mrp?” Speak of the devil.

The cat got out of its den and lept at Lilia, who dodged the attack, and the cat pushed some books off a desk. The cat was also screaming at him, and causing an all-around ruckus. Lilia managed to outmaneuver the feline, but soon a brand new human came into the scene.

The new human took one look at Lilia and backpedalled out of the room. But the human had just created another escape route for him, and Lilia flew, well, like a bat straight out of hell for it. Too bad the next room contained two more humans, including the one he had encountered from last night… maybe they would be nice again and spare him for trespassing on their small abode?

In the midst of the chaos, the human from last night knocked him out of the air with a broom. Okay, that hurt little Beastie. But that swing and the crash landing into a table caused Lilia to shift back into his human form, which also caused sparkles to happen. Did humans still think magic was evil? Well, he was about to find out.

Everyone remained silent, and after the sheer noise of the chaos, it was deafening, even the cat was quiet. And Lilia stared at the human that had knocked him out of the air, you. And you were staring straight back at him, looking utterly baffled. Well, this is awkward… I think I have overstayed my welcome… 

Lilia snapped his fingers, and he started to disappear into sparkles yet again, this time going home since he wasn’t able to use his magic when stuck in bat form. And it was happening without a pinch, but you seemed to trip on thin air and crash landed on his feet, disappearing with him; a stowaway coming to Faerie. 

… Well this is no good now, is it?

…

…

…

 When the green sparkles subsided, you found yourself sitting in some sort of bog, and the water had made it into your mouth by some twist of fate. While you were busy spitting the bog water out of your mouth, the stranger was standing by the bank, dry, without any sulfuric-tasting water in his mouth, and looking better for wear.

Pulling yourself out of the bog water — eugh, you smelled like eggs now, great — you pointed an accusatory finger at him, water dripping from the end. “Where,” you spat out some extra bog water from your mouth, “am I? And why does it reak of eggs?!” You would have looked and sounded more imposing, but you were sopping wet, covered in mud, and spitting out coughs trying to get the bad taste out of your mouth; which wasn’t really commanding any sort of respect.

The stranger, Lilia, snorted before letting out a cough, trying to hide his amusement very poorly. He waved his hand, green sparkles surrounded you and you were now dry, still covered in mud, but dry. “Faerie, although some call it the Underground.”

You opened your mouth, but he wagged his finger at you. “And before you blame me for bringing you here, you have no one to blame for this but yourself!” Despite the cheeriness, there was something cold and off putting in his eyes, like he was calculating something. But that moment passed, and the almost annoying cheerful facade came back in full. “As for the smell? That so happens to be The Bog of Eternal Stench!”

“Like eternal eternal?” You really didn’t need to smell like rotten eggs for the rest of your days.

The stranger just chuckled, “Fret not, Beastie, I decided to return the favour, since your feline friend decided not to eat me. But it is indeed ‘eternal eternal’ if you don’t have the means to get rid of it.”

Beastie? “Uh, okay.” not the most eloquent of things to say, but really, could anyone blame you? You just fell through some kind of portal, magic(?) was real, and oh yeah, so were fae/faeries or whatever the hell they called themselves. So ‘Uh, okay’ was perfectly fine in this situation.

Mr. Sparkles — if he was going to call you Beastie, he deserved a dumb nickname — just gave you a smile, exposing the barest hint of his fangs; despite his small frame, he was still dangerous, and the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end. It was as if he was assessing you, to see if you would be worth the trouble to help. You didn’t know if either option would be good by the way his magenta eyes twinkled with mischief.

He let out a huff and started walking away, and you followed. “I wouldn’t recommend following me, Beastie,” he hummed, and you tripped over a rock, vines keeping you to the moss. “The court would not take kindly to you.” 

You glared at him and tried ripping the vines off of your feet, but they didn’t budge. “And why should I listen to you?” 

Mr. Sparkles booped you on the nose, “Well, it would ensure that you made it out of here alive, which I believe you would find beneficial and all.” 

Obnoxious prick. But he did have a point, you would rather make it back home alive rather than fucking around and finding out (aka dying). “So what? Are you going to just leave me here? No welcome brochure? Thanks.” 

You were being sarcastic, since it was either sarcasm or having a full-on existential crisis, since hey, magic wasn’t real in your world! Dimension? Galaxy? Where the fuck was this place?! How the hell did you end up here?!

“Hmm good point…” he snapped his fingers and there was now a book sitting in your lap. “This should suffice, do be warned though, Beastie, I may call on you later to return the favour. For now though,” he started to turn into green sparkles, “toodaloo!~” And he turned into a bat, flying off into the sunset, leaving you alone at the edge of the swamp with the only things to your name being the clothes on your back and a book in your lap.

How to Survive the Underground; For Humans! … Did he just give you this world’s equivalent of a For Dummies book? What the fuck? Was this kind of sick joke to him?

…

…

Once some of your ire had subsided, you decided to sit down on a boulder and read a bit of the book while there was still some sunlight out, but it was dipping into the horizon fast.

How to Survive the Underground; For Humans! By Yelworc Erid Preface …… i - iv Chapter 1; Surviving Your First Night…… 1 - 10 Chapter 2; Edible Food for Humans …… 11 - 31 Chapter 3; The Basics of Fae Etiquette …… 32 - 35 3.1; Species Specifics …… 36 - 146 3.2; Government Specifics …… 147 - 169 Chapter 4; Help! I Have Been Indentured to a Fae! …… 170 - 200 Chapter 5; Adjusting to Fae Social Life …… 201 - 224 Chapter 6; Transmittable Illnesses & Diseases …… 225 - 261 Chapter 7; Fae Courting Practices …… 262 - 264 7.1; Species Specifications …… 265 - 366 7.2; Government Specifications …… 367 - 389 7.3; Accepting a Courting Proposal …… 390 - 393 7.4; Refusing a Courting Proposal …… 394 - 401 Chapter 8; How to Handle Fae Children …… 402 - 452 Chapter 9; How to Leave the Underground … 453 Chapter 10; Adjusting to Life in the Underground …… 454 - 482 Acknowledgments …… 483 - 485

Looking back up to the horizon, you quickly turned the pages to Chapter 1; Surviving Your First Night.

“If you are unable to find yourself some suitable shelter, one should find themselves safe by camping out in a rowan tree. These trees can easily be found by their vermillion clusters of berries. They keep away all native species of the Underground,” you read out loud, turning your attention to the trees nearby, searching for those berries. “Rowan tree, rowan tree–”

A loud screech coming from the undergrowth only pushed you further. 

Nope, I do not want to find out what THAT was! Nope! NoPe! NOPE! 

Finally, you found a tall enough tree and you hauled your ass up it like there was a fire below you, and you were up in the canopy, far enough up that nothing could reach you, but also high enough where you needed to be careful, since you didn’t want to meet an early death because you made a wrong move. But for now, you were safe.

“Nice try buddy,” you muttered to yourself, trying to get comfy. Wood wasn’t the comfiest thing in the world, but you weren’t really in the position to be complaining. “I am not on the menu.”

The screech came again, this time closer; yeah, you weren’t sleeping tonight. The sun was now beyond the horizon, and there was no moon, the only light coming from the stars above; it was very pretty, but you could see jack shit. This was going to be a long night… and not a fun one, since you could also see the glowing eyes of unknown creatures which were, quite frankly, freaky as fuck. So yeah, no sleep for you.

“This fucking sucks,” you grumbled, and a chittering from the bog seemed to mock you. “This really fucking sucks.”

…

…

…

…

Tags; @busycloudy, @eynnwwyjth, @identity-theft-101, @ithseem, @krenenbaker, @lucid-stories, @ryker-writes, @twistwonderlanddevotee, @xxoomiii

~~~~~~~

Author's Note; This chapter is shorter, but it felt natural to end the chapter like this. This chapter, and the previous one, were both rewrites of an old WIP, so from here on out I don't have to rewrite! YIPPEE!!! Rewriting takes me forever, so we shall see what I come up with next.

If you liked this, do check out my masterlist for more content!

[aylinaliens]

KINNPORSCHE: THE SERIES (2022) dir. Khom Kongkiat

[thejasontoddarchives]

There’s a general consensus that above all else Jason should be homicidal again. However I think what’s also very important is that he should be a fucking hoot.

There’s nothing not funny about this entire bit.

1. He couldn’t give less of a shit about explaining that he’s single-handedly trying to stop a terrorist attack. Obviously cause he’s short on time, but even if he had all the time in the world he would still be this indifferent towards explaining himself to cops.

2. This bomb is seconds away from exploding but he’s at most mildly annoyed like he’s in the office doing some menial task.

3. The perfectly timed British jokes.

4. Circling back to number 1 on the list. After he throws the bomb into the water he just dips. For all they know he’s the (weird) terrorist. (But as long as everyone’s okay he doesn’t care! The beauty of Jason Todd everybody).

This one is funny (but it’s also true)? Like yes … that is exactly what you are. (A sweet, kind-hearted goodboy learning how to effectively poison people, shoot guns, and blow shit up with all manner of explosives like a certified pro).

Bonus:

Red Hood: The Lost Days #5 (2010-)

Red Hood: The Lost Days #4 (2010-)

“Not so irritating for an American” is a far more impressive title than “genius” if you ask me. Although I think Jason balances both pretty well.

[suenitos]

C ! D ! N ! F ! K ! I ! S ! S !

destroy everything you touch

[hudbannonarchive]

i don’t find it hard to believe john didn’t break in hell btw like he hates demons and the supernatural unrepentantly the only time he ever allied himself with them was under the most extreme circumstances to save his son’s life. i actually think this hatred is what took dean so long to break too. he obviously uncritically believes everyone who goes to hell deserves it even people who are innocent but for the crime of selling their souls. and he clearly doesn’t have a problem damning people who he believes to be deserving of punishment.

[nabaath-areng]

Hey so if anyone got any suggestions on what to do when you're stuck to liquid food only when liquid food is super tricky with eating disorder (and soup is THE hardest food to eat ever), I'm all ears cause I got two of my wisdom teeth extracted and I wasn't prepared for how hellish this would be <3

[poisoned-sugar11]

I FORGOT THAT WE'RE LACTOSE INTOLERANT TO THIS DEGREE

[theinfinitedivides]

she went by the Han River to read the last letter he left for her. i had managed to stop crying and recompose myself until then but between that and seeing Joon Oh walk past her after giving her said letter at the temple almost like Do Ha was finally walking out of her life for good i lost it again. sorry i'm not that strong

[mostlylurkinbarelypostin]

You don’t give a character this much trauma…

…just to end their story in more heartbreak and tragedy.

[aprillikesthings]

I've been reading a book that's a fictionalized account of a year in the life of a serf woman in the middle ages. There's no real plot in a traditional sense, it's more like a "slice of life" kind of thing? The main point is to teach you about the daily life of an average person.

The author doesn't say when in the middle ages it's supposed to be taking place. It's definitely somewhere in England, but while some of the characters' names imply post-Norman invasion (which was 1066), the way things are portrayed implies a couple hundred years before that. I could quibble with the accuracy of some of it--soap was commonly used starting in the 800's; also they totally had linen before that!, why are they amazed and confused by seeing a piece of it; also England was Christian but people still engaged in a lot of folk religion and you don't see much of it in the book, if any.

But on the whole it's a very empathetic way of looking into the past.

It's a stressful read sometimes!! Which I suppose is part of the point. The POV character, Marion, has two living children. She had a toddler son die, and a 12-year-old daughter die, and three other infants that died; and that was not in any way unusual for that time period.

Life is just incredibly precarious: A cottage burns down because of a child's innocent mistake. A healthy adult man dies from a wood splinter wound getting infected. Marion spends all day spinning wool (the village's major trade good--she's required to give a certain amount of it to the lord every year) and a day's spinning is destroyed by accident by her toddler and she's understandably upset.

(Every spun on a drop spindle or seen someone else do it? That shit is SLOW even when done by someone with a lot of practice. And you have to spin SO MUCH to make any clothing!)

Making sure they have enough to eat takes up the vast majority of everyone's time and back-breaking labor, and a spell of bad weather could cause the whole village to starve. Marion is constantly checking on the peas in her garden, and wondering is her goat still giving milk? How many eggs did the hens lay? (how many does she still owe to her lord?) Have mice or mold gotten into her flour? And that's on top of making sour milk/cheese, and bread, and deciding when to slaughter the pigs, and making sure every last bit of those pigs is used for something or safely preserved for later. A tremendous portion of every day is just growing, preparing, and preserving food; by herself or with other villagers.

The lord and lady of the hall are fascinating, because while yes they "own" a few dozen people (because they own the land they live on, really; the serfs belong to the land, legally speaking) and pay/hire freemen, they're not idle rich people. The lady of the hall is constantly making decisions and is hardly above doing physical labor herself, including making bread and ale. The lord and lady clearly take their role seriously and are trying to make good decisions that keep the entire village fed and clothed and housed, including caring for widows and orphans. Nevertheless, they do have a higher standard of living than any of their serfs, and still have an inordinate amount of power over their lives; including deciding who can marry, and they mete out punishment when they feel it's necessary.

They just own so, so little. Marion has two wool dresses, and for most of the year she's wearing both. She has one pair of shoes, which she only wears in the winter. When the lord comes back from trading their wool thread for (among other things) a year's supply of salt and a few new iron pots, the lady of the hall has to figure out who, out of many families, needs a new pot; most families only have one. Marion's husband is the village carpenter and he knows exactly how many nails he owns, and saves bent ones for the visit from the tinker who straightens them out.

ANYWAY. Tl;dr: It's an absorbing book, and every time I put it down and am yanked back into the current day, I just think: holy shit. I am so comfortable, all of the time. And I have SO MUCH STUFF.

My life is so, so easy.

[pokemonfrommemory]

Croissant dragon

[scoopsgf]

y’know all these “yay the queen is dead let’s celebrate” posts are super interesting bc it’s like, yes she was a colonizer and all that, but it’s not like that problem ends w her? if you’re gonna pop your champagne maybe wait until the system as a whole is dismantled, bc as of rn nothing has changed. elizabeth died and charles immediately became king. the monarchy still exists, they just have a new figurehead.

[hystericfae]

I've finished reading every route in virche evermore that mattered to me ....now all I have to do is go back and read mathis' route but based on the information I've acrewed in the last 2 routes...I assume I'm in for a doozy...though I doubt anything could be worse than Lucas's route 😭

[gay-otlc]

"my headaches aren't that bad" this is the second time in three days your headaches have been so painful that they have caused debilitating nausea & you are an idiot

[whiskeyswifty]

People compare rep and lover a lot. To me lover is the superior album. I feel like lover has a lot of ups and downs (maybe even more ups than downs) but rep has only 2 ups (delicate and getaway car) and 13 absolute horrible songs lmao

i'm definitely aligned with this! tbf, i think rep and lover lend themselves to being compared more so than most of her works. the light v. dark, the exploration of falling in love v. after falling in love, the fact that they also are sequential lol. and i think you can draw a lot of parallels between songs across those two and how over time her perspectives and priorities have shifted, due to circumstances but also how aging from your 20s into your 30s really rewires your brain without realizing it (which is lost on a lot of younger fans, but that's fine! don't rush it! you'll get there!). they're fascinating texts to lay out side by side and see how they're in conversation.

and i think they're both equally conceptually messy, sonically messy too, in what you could call her murky middle period as of right now. trying out lots of different sounds and personas, however ill fitting, and helming her albums as the EP for the first time and growing into herself. they're also albums made during periods of severe personal distress unlike anything she'd experienced before; being the kanye induced snake-gate and her mother's cancer diagnosis and subsequent battle. you can see the darkness of those experiences seep through as she's trying to navigate a life she now views as precarious where she maybe once was reckless with it. i think i even said at the time that lover was the first time she ever acknowledged she had to work on herself as person and how she had played an active part in her own unhappiness in the past (see the archer). those incredibly painful growing periods in someone's life sometimes make for great art, but other times can make for artistic work that is as full of confusion and lack of clarity as those real life periods of metamorphosis can be. that's where they both fall for me anyway, but when the bright spots shine, you can see glimpses of Her in there! halfway formed and wobbling on new legs, but ambling shakily towards that more solid and fully formed version of herself.

I also pretty much agree with you on lover being superior, and your reasons are completely aligned with what I feel and often say as well. lover is definitely full of very high highs and very low lows, but the highs are sooooooo much higher than anything on reputation. and getaway car is the runaway favorite peak for sure, insaaanely high ranked in her song sorter for me given that the rest of reputation is notably absent from the top half. and i really love delicate, but i think i'm more amenable to more rep songs than you. however even the ones i like, gorgeous, don't blame me, dress, dwoht, and lwymmd (if only for how it played when you're trashed in the gay clubs at the time and how i love the video lol) i only like, but don't love. and the lows on reputation are so low, there are a few songs i couldn't tell you all the lyrics because i listened to them once. sooooooo adkljfadlkfj. even my most hated lover songs i can tolerate, unwillingly but i'll soldier through it if it comes on shuffle and i'm too lazy to skip.